In my case, I guess you blog about it since I have no one that I feel will give me an answer that makes sense because the one person who always made sense is fucking dead.
I've known John Madden since I was a bratty 15 year old. He was a regular at a coffee shop that I also frequented. That coffee shop became my home away from home--somewhere I could go to smoke, cuss, and bitch about all my 15 year old problems. And John Madden listened even when the other coffee shop regulars- who ranged in age from early 20s to 40s- rolled their eyes at me.
I remember originally thinking John was poor. He use to always say "Heather, I'm on food stamps!" It wasn't until many months later that I realized he was not on food stamps at all. It was a joke. He was not poor--he was by no means rich either--but he worked hard and had a honest job laying tile for the higher income Floridians.
John was the kind of guy you probably thought was gay when you first met him. He was one of the best interior decorators I will ever meet and his voice sounded a bit feminine. He was, by all means, what they refer to as "Metro Sexual" but John was far from gay. He loved women. He might have loved them too much because he had a knack for dating women who would walk all over him. I always told him he was too damn nice.
John was a proud man. He knew what he wanted and he usually got it. I will never forget one Valentine's day when we decided to all go have dinner together at Makotos, a local hibachi restaurant. I called to make reservations the day before Valentine's day (Which is a bad idea) and they told me the earliest reservation available was 9 pm. Before I could confirm the reservation, John grabbed the phone from me:
"Hello, this is John Madden. I want reservations for 7pm." he exclaimed to the poor hibachi hostess on the other side of the phone
"We only have 9pm available sir" she retorted
"But this is John Madden. I want reservations for 7."
"I'm sorry. We have no availability at 7. Only 9"
"I'M JOHN MADDEN."
There was a moment of silence as the hostess tried to process what was going on.
"I'm so sorry Mr. Madden. How about 7:30? Will 7:30 work?"
And so at 7:30 on Valentine's day John, his daughter Chloe, Bill, and myself sat down for a nice dinner at Makotos.
Now before you start thinking that the poor girl on the phone thought he was the famous football player, remember that his voice was very high and feminine. No one thought he was the football John Madden. But John spoke with such a matter-of-fact attitude that it scared people into thinking he was someone important. John Madden always got his way. John Madden was important.
I watched John do this more times then I can count over the years and I started deploying this same strategy in my own life. It really does work as long as you believe that you are honestly "the shit."
John was a proud man but he was also a very humble man. His door was always open to just about anyone who needed a place to stay. He often had different friends and family members, including myself, staying with him. He would give you money if you needed it--even when he didn't have it to give. He could talk some shit if you pissed him off well enough but most of the time he gave you the benefit of the doubt and was very kind. Far more kind then I am. Sometimes it amazed me that we were even friends since I have a pension for talking shit and he always saw the good in people.
I always took John's advice. Always. He is the person I call when I am sad, lonely, upset, need to know how to stain the cabinets in my bathroom, what the best window company is, or how the hell to cure constipation. He always knew what I should do. He always had an answer. He was John Madden after all.
And now I feel awful. Every time I talked to him, I felt better about my problems but then I would always realize that we had just talked on the phone for the last 3 hours about only me. We said very little about him or his mom or his family or the things going on in his life--although we did dedicate some time to talk about Chloe. Overall though, It was always about me. And he always listened and always remembered and always asked questions. I would hang up the phone and feel satisfied that I got what I needed but I was never satisfied that he got what he needed from me. Now I will never get the chance to feel like I gave him that satisfaction. I often wondered if our friendship was one sided or if I am just being paranoid about not being a good friend. You see, I don't have many close friends and I often get anxiety that I am not treating the few close friends I have with enough respect.
Not to mention John eerily "knew" when I was super upset. He would always call me when I was in the worst places in my life. I would answer the phone and he would immediately respond with "What's wrong?". He said he always knew when his friends were sad--even when they lived hundreds of miles away.
John saw me through all my worst moments: Drug abuse, breakups, opiate addiction, chronic bladder problems, depression, job loss, job gain, sudden hearing loss, and many others. He watched me grow up and become the women I am today--and I am proud to say he had a lot to do with who I have become.
But now I also feel like I stole something. His daughter Chloe is only 18 years old. I feel like I got all the years with John that she deserves so much more then I do. Age 18 - 24 were the hardest years on me and the years I leaned on John the most. Dear sweet Chloe will not get that crutch from her daddy that I was able to so gratefully have. I feel like a thief.
John, I honestly don't know what I am going to do without you. I don't know what to do now. I feel like my flashlight has gone out in a very dark tunnel with no exit in sight. I know this is so incredibly selfish for me to say but you left without answering the one question I now need more than any others: WHAT THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITHOUT YOU?
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| He was my best friend and I will miss him dearly |
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